


Standards

by AithuzahFic (veritably_mad)



Series: Tumblr Ficlets - Ask Memes [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-09
Updated: 2015-05-09
Packaged: 2018-03-29 18:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3905950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veritably_mad/pseuds/AithuzahFic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vivian and Sophia have different ideas about the ideal cabin-by-a-lake experience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Standards

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Val_Creative](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Val_Creative/gifts).



> **Meme:** "Send me a ship and the first sentence of a fic and I will finish it!"
> 
>  **Prompt from[Rie](http://nooowestayandgetcaught.tumblr.com/):** Sophia/Vivian - "I already regret this."
> 
>  
> 
> [Link to ask.](http://aithuzah.tumblr.com/post/118495473251/sophia-vivian-i-already-regret-this)
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT: I expanded this a bit for a flash fiction prompt about setting. The ask contains the original response, but I've posted the edited version here.

“I already regret this.” Vivian bit her lip and cast a longing look at the gorgeous cabin far behind them. The one her father had let her and her girlfriend use. The one with an entire wall of windows looking into the forest, a screened sunroom, and a _pool_. Why would they go into the muddy, slimy, frog-infested lake when they had a pool _right there_? Not to mention the pool boy, who provided a view they could both enjoy in addition to keeping everything sanitary and not disgusting.

Sophia insisted that Vivian “expand her boundaries” by doing things outside the comfort zone her lavish life had allowed her to keep. Sophia said she was “imprisoned by her father’s rules”; Vivian called it “having standards.”

Sophia twirled around and stopped, making Vivian almost run into her, and caught her mouth in a slow, plush kiss that left their lips slick and their cheeks flushed, eyes heavy-lidded. Vivian almost forgot where they were going and what they were about to do. Almost.

“You say that now,” Sophia said, sugary and teasing, “but you haven’t had the true cabin-by-a-lake experience until you actually _swim in the lake_. I’ll make it worth your while. You know I will.”

There was nothing on earth, no shirtless pool boy or hot tub or bug-free water that could make Vivian refuse Sophia in that moment, but she resisted anyway. Made Sophia try harder to convince her, though she was already convinced and committed. “I know I won’t enjoy the taste of lake water on you,” she sniffed.

Sophia smiled and rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what Vivian was doing. She slid her arm around her waist so they were pressed hip-to-hip and started them walking toward the lake beach again. The dirt path to the lake had been groomed smooth by the groundskeeper, so Sophia had insisted they leave their flip-flops behind.

“Chlorine is no better,” she countered. “Worse, I’d say. But you’ll have to compare to see for yourself.”

When they reached the water’s edge, Sophia guided them in slowly. Vivian cringed at the slick squelch of mud between her toes and the cool shiver of the water rising against her legs as they stepped deeper. Silt and debris rose up at the disturbance like clouds of dust billowing in slow-motion. The water, now just past her knees, cooled her in a pleasant balance to her sun-warmed skin.

Sunlight glinted across the ripples and waves, making Vivian squint, and she regretted leaving her sunglasses on the poolside table. The view here was much better than the one from the pool, actually. She liked the way she could see the sky and the bright colors of the trees on the other shore smeared onto the water’s surface as a reflection like an impressionistic painting. When she turned to look back the way they came, she realized she couldn’t see the cabin around the bend, only a narrow path and the lush density of green. It was as if they had found a tiny refuge from the world, and Vivian didn’t know if the tightness in her chest at the thought of being so out of reach, so disconnected, came from fear, or from the thrill of freedom.  

Vivian dug her heels deeper into the soft mud and took a moment to breathe in, to listen to the persistent lap of the water against their thighs, against the shore, so much gentler than the ocean’s rasping crash-roar. She had thought that the lake would smell worse once they were standing in it, but she found she liked it better than the chlorine-sharp air around the pool. Somehow, the quiet managed to both relax and unsettle her.

Maybe they could tie their lounge pool floats to a branch or something and drift close to the lake beach, rocked by the waves, dozing until their skin bronzed in the light and the sun sank below the tree line, painting glimmering streaks of red and pink across the waters. They could call the pool boy to wade out and give them drinks and then send him away. Leave them to the quiet, their hands clasped between their floats, keeping them linked through that warm point of contact.

Sophia tugged at Vivian’s hand, a silent prompt for her to turn and face her. Vivian barely had time to register the wicked smirk and the gleam in her eye before she felt the hard shove to her shoulders and she was falling back, caught off-guard and off-balance, into the shock of cold.

She resurfaced, spluttering, to the sound of Sophia’s giggles and the dripping mess of her blonde hair plastered onto her face.

Vivian tackled her girlfriend into the water, shrieking with exaggerated rage and real joy, starting a watery, muddy, thoroughly unsanitary splash-fight that she didn’t regret one bit.

Maybe the true cabin-by-a-lake experience was worth getting a little dirty, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, comments, and constructive critiques are always welcome and much appreciated. 
> 
> (I'm greedy for feedback, I admit it.)


End file.
